Brazil favourites in ‘dream’ clash — Belgian coach

Belgium’s forward Adnan Januzaj (C) celebrates scoring the opening goal with his teammates during the Russia 2018 World Cup Group G football match between England and Belgium at the Kaliningrad Stadium in Kaliningrad on June 28, 2018. / AFP PHOTO

Belgium coach Roberto Martinez has said Brazil are the favourites when the countries meet in a “dream” World Cup quarterfinal on Friday.

“These two teams are constructed to score and to win matches. Against Brazil, it will not be about ball possession, but what you do with it. That’s what this World Cup is all about,” Martinez told reporters on Wednesday.

“We know what we are capable of but Brazil are the favourites, putting us into a different role.

“But it’s a dream match for our players — they were born to play in a match like this. Naturally we want to win, but we are not expected to and that is an important difference.”

Martinez saw Belgium recover from 2-0 down to snatch a last-gasp 3-2 win over Japan in the round of 16 and book their meeting with the five-time World Cup winners.

“Against a team like Brazil, you must attack and defend with 11 players,” he said. “We are not talking about a system but understanding what we must do when we have possession.

“I don’t think it will be a game with many secrets. We have to defend as well as we can and then cause them pain when we have the ball. It can be that simple, and this squad is ready for that.”